ABSTRACT
The Dutch sociologist Cornelis Lammers has become famous as one of the founding fathers of the sociology of organizations in the Netherlands and Europe. His doctoral thesis was about the military, in particular about the recruitment and socialization of officer cadets in the Dutch Navy. Compared to Western militaries – particularly after conscription was abolished – armed forces in developing countries seem to suffer more often from mutinies and rebellion from within. This seems to be the fate of the under-bureaucratized armed forces that we met in the discussion about Weber's bureaucracy theory. In the Netherlands, for instance, participation in the Iraq mission and the relatively large contribution to the Afghanistan mission could only be 'sold' to the Dutch public as 'reconstruction missions'. 'Reconstruction missions' were said to help the regions develop their administrative and security organizations, to rebuild the roads, and to build up their health care and educational organizations again.
